Mortal Wounds
by Inky Iris
Summary: Tired of Valerie risking her life ghost fighting, her father sends her to stay with her uncle in California for a while.


This crossover category has a criminal lack of Valerie. I've had this idea for a long while. I went to sum this up on the Phandom chat and ended up writing this instead. It's extremely short, but I wanted to put it up anyway. I am not sure when it'll be updated, sorry ^^'

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Valerie made sure to stay as quiet as possible as she slipped through her window. Her dad worked late more often than not, so it wasn't like she needed to be so cautious. There was nothing to worry about.

She was positive of that until the bedroom light flipped on. Shoot.

"Valerie, give me the suit." Her dad didn't even bother to be angry - he just sounded tired.

She smiled at him, widening her eyes. "Daddy, I was just out flying because I couldn't sleep." They both knew how fake she sounded tonight. Her smile stretched into more of a grimace and her eyes were bloodshot.

"Valerie."

She dropped the act. "Fine," was her short reply. The suit fell away from her body and assembled, folded, in her arms. She wasn't sure what made it work, but she wasn't interested in the mechanics now. The teen watched her father cross the room and take the suit impassively.

The man shook his head. "I don't know how you keep getting this back. This is the fourth time this week. This needs to end, Valerie."

At the words, her already frayed temper snapped. "It will!" She snarled, not bothering to modulate her tone, "When Phantom's _dead_!"

"No!" Her father barked back. Val stopped in shock. Her dad _never_ yelled at her. "This ends now, Valerie! I _will not_ lose you too!"

"You can't stop me." She breathed heavily. "I will get my suit back and keep going out after Phantom until he is _destroyed_ and Danny's-" She stopped at that, fists clenched.

In return, her dad shook his head. "This isn't healthy, Valerie."

"I don't care!" Her nails bit into her palms. Phantom would _pay_ for what he'd done. He would regret ever coming to Amity Park.

Her father closed his eyes and took a breath. "I can. I'm sending you to live with your uncle."

Eyes widening, Valerie shook her head. "No, you can't do that. You can't make me go." She lifted her chin assertively.

"I've already signed you up for school. You have a plane ticket for noon tomorrow. You should pack what you can take and I'll ship whatever else you need."

He was serious. Valerie stepped forward as he turned to leave the room. "Mom never talked to him! I think I met him once! What if he's crazy? I _have_ to stay here. I'll stop hunting Phantom." They both knew that was a lie.

"You've had your chance, Valerie." His shoulders were lined with exhaustion. "I can't lose you. This is the only way I can think of to make sure that doesn't happen."

"What if something happens?" She had to stay in Amity. This couldn't be happening. What if Phantom showed up and she wasn't there to stop him this time?

"Then you come home." Her father sighed. "This isn't forever, Val. Just until I know you won't do anything reckless and get hurt."

"What if he's crazy?" She tried. Her dad wasn't budging. "Mom didn't talk to him for a reason!"

The man sighed heavily. "I know. I don't know what else to do with you, Valerie." The words stung. Now she was just someone to be done with? The words completely invalidated her opinions and emotions. Her dad had never reduced her like that before. "I talked to him and he seemed fine. If it goes wrong, I'll bring you home. Give him a chance."

"But _Dad_-" She was cut off as he shut the door.

Valerie stood panting for a moment before she whirled and kicked her desk chair. She couldn't leave. Not when there was so much uncertainty and Phantom was still out there and might hurt someone else she cared about. But what could she do? Her old friends wouldn't let her stay with them, Danny's family was going through enough right now, and she didn't know Sam and Tucker very well.

She kicked the chair again. It looked like tomorrow she would be on her way to live with her Uncle Wilson. She'd make sure she was sent back as soon as possible. She barely remembered his first name - she thought it might be Slade - and the only thing she knew was Mom had never talked to him or about him. That had to mean something was wrong. It didn't matter. She'd be back in Amity Park in two weeks and she would _destroy_ Phantom.

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How did I do with writing Valerie? I want to do her justice because she's fabulous. Let me know if you see any terrible mistakes or out of character sections. Leave a review with your thoughts!


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